The University of Rome (Sapienza)
excavations revealed part of the stone Middle Bronze Age wall defending Jericho destroyed c. 1550 BC. The wall foundations were dug below earlier Middle
Bronze Age structures and cut through them. The excavations are in the south side of the mound
near Kathleen Kenyon's Trench III. To date there is no evidence of a LBA
walled city. These findings have cast doubt on the Biblical story of
Joshua and the conquest of Jericho. There is evidence for a small settlement in the vicinity during
the LBA during the era when the Egyptians operated in the region. There were
a few Egyptian New Kingdom scarabs found in tombs adjacent to the mound and very little
LBA pottery.